As we mentioned last week, re-imagining a life and a world in the age of coronavirus presents a lot of unanswerable questions, yes, but also several opportunities. One those opportunities is the critical role clean energy and sustainability will play in reviving the economy and helping consumers adjust their behaviors and habits.

This month we’re back with the next installment of our Industry Expert Interviews, a content series that keeps the community spirit alive and well and selfishly, gives us the opportunity to talk to some truly incredible people. These will be longer installments, so we encourage you to grab a cup of coffee, sit back and enjoy “meeting” someone new.

Consumers and communities are giving brands permission to lead in thinking about the new normal of a world with coronavirus. The burden of re-imagining a future, and offering solutions for a problem about which so much is still unknown, can be scary and overwhelming to navigate, especially for consumers that are already navigating so many unprecedented challenges. A new world that entails, among other things, working from home, staying healthy, parenting and schooling, new budgets, limited income sources, previous support lines cut and a new perspective about what is actually important in life.

I’m writing this from our empty office. Sitting on a couch next to no one. It’s so quiet I can hear the fan turn 20 feet above my head. I didn’t even know we had fans. I spend most of the day looking at my computer screen. And when I’m not looking at that, I’m looking at the empty desks of my friends and colleagues. And I wonder. I wonder when we will all get to share this space together again. I wonder how different all of it will feel. I miss the sound of Shaina’s laugh. I miss what Erin’s smile looks like when it’s not through a zoom call. I miss the sound of Tucker walking around the office on speaker phone. And I miss how loud Rachel types. Real-life, in-person stuff.

Growing up in the remote cornfields of the Midwest can feel pretty isolating. Fortunately, I had a vast library of vinyl. Yep. I’m old. For me, the sound of that needle slipping across the surface of the record can be one of the most comforting sounds on this planet. Those few seconds before the music starts and the real escape begins.

To this day, when certain songs come on, I can remember what my room smelled like. The ratty old t-shirt I was wearing. Where I was sitting. The mood I was in.

Music plays such an important role in our day-to-day lives. Workout playlists. Go-to karaoke jam. Your wedding.

Communicating your company’s commitment to a polarizing topic can bring on paralyzing fear. The idea of taking a firm stance on a cause your brand believes in, especially when your competitors are not vocalizing their own beliefs or making their own commitments—whether it is climate change; gender equality; diversity and inclusion; fair labor practices; sexual assault; or LGTBQ issues—can feel risky. This is especially true in 2020, with the way that information is consumed and spread at such a rapid pace with one small, vocal commitment having the potential to go viral.

2019. The year my son Max was born. The year lots of babies were born—130 million of them, actually. 130 million little sets of eyes opened for the first time and saw this crazy, cool, frightening, exciting, sad, awesome, strange place all of us call home. Thankfully, infants spend a considerable amount of time sleeping, because 2019 was filled with all types of shouting.